Flying made easy the smart AirAsia style

By Venice

It’s really been a while since I’ve blogged anything really useful. And this idea hit me the other day.

Day in, day out, I meet people with minor problems before, during or after flight. And it all boils down to understanding our services and options. If it’s one thing offered by low-cost-airlines generally, it’s OPTIONS. So, I shall attempt to explain/remind/de-mystify some of the things which can help you have a better flying experience with us.

As it is in the earlier part of my day off, I am attempting to recall all the buzz which ran through my head during the many flights I’ve had in a half-sleepy-still-tired state-of-mind. So bear with me IF I had missed out anything.

(1)Getting to book at the low low fares seen on our advertisements.How do I do that?
The key to this is BOOK EARLY! At the very start of the promotional booking period, the lowest fares would generally be available on most timings and days, even weekends. So if you hit the booking engine at the start of the promo period, you’ll have the lowest fares waiting for you!
Alternatively: subcribe to our RedAlert… they notify you to our offers earlier!

(2) How often have you heard this conversation take place:
You: Can I have a Nasi Lemak and an Old Town coffee…?
Flt Attn: I’m sorry, Sir. Nasi Lemak‘s sold out. We only have snacks and chocolates left.
You: Erm, the Fried Rice? Chicken Rice?
Flt Attn: I’m sorry, Sir. All the Hot Meals are sold out…

You’re tired and hungry, with growing expectations of a hot meal with a good coffee and the flight time draws nearer. But you get that conversation playing.Sounds familiar?
Well, firstly, we do not carry excessive hot meals on our flights in order to control wastages. These meals don’t have a very long shelf-life, which means we can’t keep those for too long without refregiration. Secondly, we can’t control if someone wants to purchase three portions to one person or to have a mini feast onboard. *I’ve had someone telling me to stop selling to that one person who was buying quite a few items and move on with the cart so as to save them some food!* Thirdly, we can’t help it either if a group travelling together sits in the front half of the cabin and starts ordering half our carts away.Solution: PRE-BOOK YOUR MEALS! The next time you book your flights, you will have the options of pre-booking your meals. When you do that, we carry extra specific meals as ordered by you. I often tell guests onboard, your meals will be boarding the plane even before you do!Bonus! You enjoy a discount when you purchase your meals online! So what is there to lose?Don’t know if you would want to eat in flight? Well, knowing that you have a meal waiting onboard would definitely be more helpful for you to plan your meal-times, don’t you think? Even so, there’s always the option to ‘ta-pau’or have it take-away! Just ask your flt attendants for a plastic bag ( but remember to go green!) and cutleries.

(3) Oi! My wife and children got separated seats away from me!
Simply PICK A SEAT! We offer two options for Pick-A-Seat with applicable fees;
i) Hot Seats
Ever envied those people who can board our planes first and get the easy-to-exit front seats? Or how they can enjoy more leg room (or for some, belly room)? Well, envy no more. You can purchase our Hot Seats so that you will be allocated seats either upfront in the cabin or at the roomier emergency-exit-rows.
On our A330, this is also an option with baby bassinets for mothers with infants.

*unsold Hot Seats will be left unoccupied throughout the entire flight despite whatever the reasons may be. The most common one I’ve heard to date is :”The seats are empty anyway, so why can’t I occupy them?” Try telling that to the people who paid for them in the first place. It’s called being fair. It’s a policy we practise, so please don’t verbally blast your next flt attendants over those prefered seats you did not purchase.*

ii) Choice Seats
This option is best for people who:
a) want to keep the group together (family, friends, tour groups, etc)
b) prefer to get the aisle seats, window seats or the less-bumpy forward-cabin seats
c) wants to avoid the non-reclinable rows (*tips* on our A320, that’ll be our rows 11 and 31)
It’s cheaper that our Hot Seats, and reduces a lot more grunts and problems!

Well, that’s what I can rake together for this post. I gotta save some for my next one.
Hope what I shared has been useful.

Cool tips! I am flying with Airasia to Bangkok this december and have already prebooked my hot meals and booked pretty early that I paid for unbelievable prices !

Thanks Airasia!:)

Lau

*thumbs up*

Sze Chin

=) it’s look like all the Airasia staff no matter from which department now is giving tips to all our passenger thru all channel. Once a while i will sharing all the tips in Facebook too. Sometimes, everything is just in our TNC just they too lazy to go over it and blame AA when they do not statisfy with what they got in the future. Anyway, thanks alot for the sharing here…

Phoek

instead of alerted by email from airasia, first thing in every morning I will log in http://www.airasia.com checking the ticket price.
I fly a lot due to my work, but even when I don’t have any traveling plan, I will make one everytime AirAsia offers low price ticket

Ahsan Imaduddin

Hi Venice… thanks for your sharing..but it still seems the sale approach for AirAsia to get more profit..its OK anyway..

As regular guest AirAsia, I found that lots of guest who NOT purchased “Hot Seat” simply jumped into that seats once the flight take-off.. How your FA will practise fair policy on this matter to other passenger who paid RM5 for normal seat but allowed non-payable even normal seat, occuppied that “Hot SeaT” without pay extra any single cent????

Seng Jea

I disagree. You paid extra-RM for a _guarantee_ to the HotSeats. Those who jumped in on the HotSeats for free did not have them guaranteed. It was by luck.

This would not discourage those who have paid for Hot Seats to stop because they WANT that _guarantee_.

Venice

Hello. Wow… thanks for all the feedback and comments on my post. Haha.. makes me happy.

Anyway, to Anonymous1, to be on a very very general and what I would deem as a fair approach, isn’t every business’ main target is to get a profit? Those who don’t would have registered themselves as NGOs, would they not? I think it’s unfair to critizise a business for having revenue channels.
To the airlines, it is now down to survival, not merely making profits anymore.
But you are right… there are a lot of people who jumps into the Hot Seats even when they are fully aware of the fees applicable. In fact, let me share with you what some of the responses and experience I’ve had with handling these free-Hot-Seaters… in my next blog, otherwise I’d fill up the comment column.
Anonymous 2, you’re spot on!! That the guarantee and assurance that comes with the booking of Hot Seats…it comes with Express Boarding anyway, so what is there to lose?
Till my next blog…

*disclaimer: what I express in here is truly my humble opinion which might be wrong. So please spare me from the quotes and references, thank you!*

Shaun

Health and Safety is not their main concern. Even when you walk to the planes, no ear plugs are given. Open your eyes and you see some are wearing some ear plugs to protect their ears. Oh well, save small money and compromise your health.